Ceiling air conditioning system



Jan. 31, 1967 J. E. STANLEY CEILING AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM OriginalFiled Oct. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 31, 1967 J. E. STANLEY CEILINGAIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM 4 Sheets-ShedI 2 Original Filed Oct. 26, 1964Jan. 3l, 967 J. E. STANLEY CEILING AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM OriginalFiled Oct. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 31, 1967 Original Filed Oct.

125 K 126 12a v I f I 2 J. E. STANLEY CEILING AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM 4Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O 3,301,165 CEILING AIR CONDITIONINGSYSTEM .lohn E. Stanley, Flintridge, Calif., assiguor to Duo-FlexCorporation, Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Continuationof abandoned application Ser. No. 407,951, Oct. 26, 1964. Thisapplication June 3, 1966, Ser. No. 555,206

12 Claims. (Cl. 98--40) This application is a continuation of mycopending application Serial No. 407,951, filed October 26, 1964, andnow abandoned, which in turn was a continuation-in-part of my co-pendingapplication No. 325,636, liled November 22, 1963, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to acoustical ceilings incorporating ventilationmeans for `supplying fresh air to room spaces and is directed to meetingcertain problems that are involved in the construction of such ceilings.

One of the problems is to incorporate in such a ceiling suitableopenings to diliuse fresh air into room spaces as well as suitableopenings for return air liow. Another problem is to provide suchopenings in a decorative and unobtrusive manner in contrast to theconspicuous appearance of conventional rectangular registers in aceiling. Still another problem is to achieve economy by a ceilingconstruction made up of relatively inexpensive components that may bequickly and easily assembled without highly specialized skill.

A further pressing problem of primary importance is to provide anacoustical ceiling of lthis character that is highly exible not only inthe sense of affording free choice in the initial arrangement of theventilation components but also in the sense of freely permittingrearyrangement of the ventilation components at minimum expense to meetchanges in ventilation requirements. Where an acoustical ceilingstructure extends over a number of room spaces, each provided with anadequate supply of fresh air, the need may arise to shift partitions tochange the room spaces, and, of course, the ventilation system must bechanged accordingly. Or the requirement may be simply to change thelocation of air ingress or air egress in one of the room spaces becauseof a change in desk location or to suit the comfort of a particularoccupant. In a conventional ceiling structure such changes in theventilation system are major structural operations that causeinconveniences to occupants in addition to being expensive.

The present invention meets all of these problems by a suspended ceilingconstruction in which a portion of the ceiling surface is provided byspaced parallel primary ceiling support members in the form of panelsthat are of open construction in that they are perforated or slotteduniformly in some pleasing manner to serve as means for inflow andoutllow of air. In the preferred practice of the invention the multiplepurpose panels are channel members with upturned overhanging flanges andthe panels are suspended from the overhead structure of the` building bymeans of wires and sheet metal hangers, the hangers engaging theoverhanging flanges of the panels.

Air is supplied to the room spaces by hollow units or box-likeenclosures with open bottoms that conform to the elongated configurationof the open panels. These hollow units are mounted on the upper sides oflongitudinal portions of open panels in a conveniently removable mannerto use the -openings of the panels for delivering fresh air into theroom spaces and thereby cooperate with the panels to serve as supply airplenums. To make the hollow units freely movable and removable, at leastone relatively large supply air duct extends into the space above theceiling and the supply duct is connected to a plurality of the hollowunits by corresponding suitable highly liexible connector ducts.

ICC

The space above the suspended ceiling serves as a return air plenumchamber and for this purpose communicates with `a suitable relativelylarge Ireturn air duct. Longitudinal portions of the open ceiling panelsare left open for return air ilow from the room spaces into the returnair plenum chamber. The remaining longitudinal portions of the openpanels are closed by suitable masking strips. The exposed undersides ofthe open panels are of pleasing uniform appearance with no visualindications whatsoever of the dilferent portions that are used forsupply air and return air, and the portions that are simply blanked olf.

Usually :some provision is required to minimize the transmission ofsounds from one room space to another through the supply lair plenumchamber above the ceiling and for this purpose suitable baffles may beassociated with the portions of the open panels that are used for returnair ilow. In this regard a feature of the preferred practice of theinvention is the provision of attenuation baffles in the form ofinverted troughs of sound-absorbing material that extend lalong the openportions of the open panels. The troughs are supported by the panels butare spaced slightly above the open bottoms of the panels to provideclearance for return air liow.

In the preferred practice of the invention, the ceiling is demountablein the sense that any of the acoustical tiles may be readily .removedfor access to the space or return air plenum chamber above the ceiling.For this purpose, as will be explained, the opposite ends of theindividual acoustical tiles rest on longitudinal shoulders of the openpanels `so that any one of the tiles may be simply lifted upward toafford access to the space `above the ceiling. Light xtures for theceiling are mounted in the same manner with the opposite ends of thelight xtures resting on longitudinal shoulders of the open panels. Thus,the light fixtures and the acoustical tiles are interchangeable to makeit a :simple matter to shift a light xture from one location to another.

The llexibility of such a ceiling structure may be readily appreciated.The magnitude of the air supplied to a room space may be selected byselecting the longitudinal dimension of a box-like hollow unit for theroom space or by using an appropriate number of hollow units of a givensize. In like manner, `the capacity for return air flow from the roomspace may be chosen by simply leaving open the required portion of theopen panel or panels with appropriate attenuation batlies above the openportions. The exible connector ducts aiford freedom in the location ofthe hollow units and, of course, there is noth` ing to interfere with achoice of location of the attenuation panels for return air flow.

In .installing such a ceiling, decisions as to specific locations andspecific sizes of the ventilation components vas well as the location ofthe light fixtures may be left to the last minute for the convenience ofoccupants. Once the installation is completed, moreover, changes in theventilation components and the light fixtures may be made quickly,conveniently and rat -a minimum expense. A exible connector duct leadingfrom a supply duc-t to a hollow unit permits ready relocation of thehollow unit within the length of the flexible connector duct. Such allexible connector duct may be readily disconnected from a hollow unitto permit one hollow unit to be substituted for lanother and, ifdesired, a relatively long flexible connector duct may be substitutedfor a relatively short exible connector duct to permit a desired changein location of a hollow unit.

A further feature of the preferred practice of the invention is themanner in which each of the readily demountable acoustical tiles isshaped and dimensioned for substantially airtight engagement with thelongitudinal shoulders of the perforated panels yas well as with theassociated T-splines that are employed at the junctures of thesuccessive tiles. cal tiles are so shaped as to make the ceilingsubstantially airtight without the necessity of employing the usualantibreathing splines along the longitudinal shoulders of the perforatedpanels.

The features and advantages lof the invention may be understood from thefollowing detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, which Iare to be regarded as merely illus trative FIG.l is a fragmentary schematic v-iew showing how both a supply duct and areturn air duct extend into the plenum air chamber above the ceiling andalso showing how both a supply duct and a ret-urn -air duct extend intothe plenum air chamber above the ceiling and also showing how individualhollow units are connected to the supply duct by flexible connectorducts;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the ceiling showing how aperforated support panel forms a portion of the ceiling surface;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional View showing how aperforated support panel is suspended from 'overhead building structure;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the upper sideof the ceiling structure;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of a hollow unit mounted in a perforatedsupport channel;

FIG. `6 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing theconstruction of a clip that may be employed to support an attenuationbaille above an open portion of a perforated support panel;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the ceiling structure as seen fromthe space above the ceiling;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing how a tile is shaped to cooperateboth with a T -spline and with a longitudinal shoulder of a perforatedpanel;

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view showing how a single acoustical tile restsat its opposite ends on longitudina shoulders of two spaced perforatedpanels;

FIG. 12 is a cross section of a primary support panel of openconstruction that may be employed in another practice of the invention,the panel being characterized by a single longitudinal slot instead of aplurality of perforations;

FIG. 13 is asimilar viewshowing a hollow unit mounted on thelongitudinal slotted support member;

FIG. 14 is a simil-ar view showing an attenuation baille mounted on theslotted support panel; n

FIG. y15 is a view similar to FIG."12.illustrating another panel ofopenconstruction that may be employed, the panel providing a pair ofparallel longitudinal slots for the passage of air ilow therethrough;

FIG. 16 is -a view similar to FIG. 15 showing a hollow runit mounted onthe slotted panel of FIG. l5; tand FIG. 17 is a, similar View showinghow an attenuation baille may be mounted on the Islotted panel of FIG.15.

FIG. 1 shows schematically how room spaces may be defined by partitions10 with the room spaces covered by a ceiling structure which includes aplurality of spaced parallel primary support members in the form 'ofperforated support panels 12. The ceiling structure is made up largelyof acoustical tiles 20 which are not shown in detail in FIG. 1 and theceiling structure incorporates light xtures 13.

In FIG. l a plurality of box-like hollow units 14 are arranged at spacedlocations along the perforated support panel 12 with the individualhollow units connected to a relatively large supply air duct 15 bycorresponding ilexible connector ducts 16. The space above the ceilingstructure serves as an air plenum chamber which is connected to arelatively large return air duct 18.

FIG. 2 shows how the majo-r portion of the exposed As will be explained,the aco-ustiundersurface of the ceiling structure -is formed byconventional acoustical tile members 20 with .a minor portion of theceiling surface provided by the perforated 1mderside of at least onesupport panel 12. The perforations in the support panel 12 may be of anysuitable configuration and of any suitable pattern of distribution. Inthis instance the perforations are spaced parallel transversed slots 22.l

As best shown in FIG. 3, each of the panels 12 that serve as primarysupport members for the ceiling structure is of the generalconilguration of a channel member. Thus each Ipanel l2 has a bottom web24 that forms a portion of the ceiling surface and is provided with thelaterally extending slots 22. The panel has a pair of upwardly extendinglongitudinal side flanges 25 each of which is offset to form alongitudinal shoulder 26 and an upwardly extending inner tlange 28. Thesheet metal is bent back 'on itself to give the two inner flanges 28double thickness for increased strength.

Although the perforated support panels 12 may be suspended in anysuitable manner from the overhead building structure, in this instance,the panels are supported :by means of special hanger members 30 whichengage the panels and which are suspended from the overhead buildingstructure by suitable wires 32. As shown in FIG. 4 the hanger members 30may be arranged in rows and interconnected by spacer members in the formof L bars 34 formed of sheet metal. 'Ihus with the perforated panels 12arranged in parallel relationship and interconnected by the spacer bars34 in cooperation with the hanger members 30 the result is a rigidsupport grid for the acoustical tile members 20.

Each of the hanger members 30 may comprise a piece of pliable sheetmetal cut and bent to the configuration shown in FIG. 3. l The uprightpiece of sheet metal lits into a perforated panel 12 transverselythereof and is formed with a pair of opposite side ears 35 that engagethe previously mentioned shoulders `26 from below. Each of the two sideears 35 'has a flange 36 at its outer edge and these two flanges areturned in opposite directions. The sheet metal of a hanger member 30 isfurther formed with a pair ofy opposite locking tabs 3'8 that areinitially bent to horizontal positions. In addition the opposite sideedges of the sheet metal of a hanger member 30 is formed with a pair ofspaced tongues 40 that Ialso are initially bent to horizontal positionlas shown on the left side of FIG. 3. Finally the upper end of the sheetmetal is bent to form a top flange 42 to receive a hanger bolt 44 forconnection to a wire 32, the hanger bolt being anchored to the hangermember by a pair of opposed nuts 45. l

To install a hanger member 30 in the ceiling structure, the hangermember is insertedv into the interior of a perforated panel 12 and thenis rotated to its transverse assembled position shown in FIG. 3. The twoloc-king tabs 38 are then turned downward t-o the positions shown inFIG. 3 tvv-here they overhang the two inner flanges 28 of the panel toprevent any degree of rotation of the hanger member that would result indisengagement of the hanger member from the panel. Y i

Each of the'L bars 34 that serves as a spacer member between two hangermembers 30, may be made of light sheet metal with a lower longitudinalflange 46 and with the metal bent back on itself to form a reinforcementbead 48 on the upper edge of the bar. Each of the L bars 34 is formedwith a pair of apertures 50 in each of its ends to receive a pair of4the tongues 40 of a hanger member. To attach an L bar 34 to a hangermember 3ft, a pair of the horizontal tongues 40 of the hanger member areinserted through the pair of apertures 50 and then the tongues are benttowards eachother .las shown at the right in FIG. 3.

Each of the hollow units 14 may be a box-like enclosure with an lopenbottom, the enclosure being of elongated dimension to fit into apeforated panel 12 be-A tween the two side flanges 28 of the panel. Sucha hollow unit may be of any length up to a length equal to the distancebetween two of the hanger members Sil. In a large room space several ofthe Ihollow lunits 14 may be used, for example as indicated in FIG. 1.

In the construction shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 a hollow unit 14 is ofpolygonal cross sectional configuration as indicated and is formed witha suitably shaped nipple 58 to telescope into the end of a flexibleconnector duct 16. The connector ducts 16 may be made of highly flexibleplastic material.

Each of the hollow units 14 rests on the bottom web 24 of a perforatedpanel 12 with Ia suitable gasket 6i)` in- -terposed to make the juncturesubstantially airtight. Each of the lhollow units 14 is stabilized andprevented from turning over by transverse angle members 62 that arerespectively firmly .attached to its two opposite ends. As indicated inFIG. 4 each of the two angle members 62 has a downwardly extendinglongitudinal flange 64 which is formed with a pair of slots 65 whichstraddle the edges of the two inner flanges 28 lof the perforated panelwithout taking the weight of the hollow unit off the bottom web 24 ofthe panel.

FIG. 4 shows how a combined air return and attenuation baille, generallydesignated 66, may be mounted over a longitudinal portion of aperforated panel 12 where the longitudinal portion of the panel is openfor return air flow from the room space below to the plenum chamberlabove the ceiling. The baille 66 is of elongated configuration toconform to the configuration of the perforated panel 12 and may be ofany length up to the full distance between two of the hanger members3f). In FIG. 4, the baille 66 is made of relatively thick plates ofsuitable sound-deadening material i.e. sound-attenuating material, forexample, a fibrous material having la decibel ratio of to 60 in anattenuation loss test. The baffle is fabricated with la top wall 70 andtwo divergent side walls 72, the baffle being open on its under side. InFIG. 4 one end of the baille 66 is both closed and supported by atrapezoidal end wall 74 that rests inside the panel 12 and the other endof the baille is closed by backing against a hanger member 30. In someinstances the :bafllc 66 `will be dimensioned to abut against hangermembers at both of its ends, the two hanger members serving as two endwalls -for the baffle.

If a baille 66 needs to be supported by additional means, suitable clipsmay be employed for this purpose, for example clips 75 of theconstruction that is best shown in FIG. 6. Each clip 75 is a piece ofrectangular sheet metal bent to angular configuration to form adownwardly extending flange 76 and upwardly extending flange 78 and anintermediate support shoulder 80. The material of the downward flange 76is lanced and bent to form an offset tongue 82 to permit the clip to bemounted on one side of a perforated panel 12 by straddling an innerflange 28 ofthe panel in the manner shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 shows how the `clips '76 may be used along each side of a baille66 with the lower edges of the side walls 72 of the baille resting onthe support shoulders 80 of the clips. 'The clips 75 hold the loweredges of the baffle 66 spaced above the inner flanges 28 of theperforated panel by a distance to provide clearance of the same flowcapacity as the perforations or slots 22 of the panel 12.

All of the longitudinal portions of the perforated panels 12 that arenot occupied either by a hollow unit 14 or an attenuation baffle 66 aresealed off by suitable masking strips such as the masking strip 84 shownin FIG. 4. The masking strip 84 may be a fixed slab of the previouslymentioned sound-deadening material i.e. sound-attenuating material, thatis dimensioned to cover the apertures or transverse slots 22 of thepanel, the strip fitting snugly between the two inner flanges 28 of thepanel. Preferably the lower faces of the masking strips 84 are paintedblack so that the perforations or slots 22 in the region of a maskingstrip have the same appearance as the slots in 6 the region of either ahollow unit 14 or an attenuation baille 66.

As shown in FIG. 4 a T-spline 85 of a well known type extends along thejuncture of each pair of successive acoustical tiles Ztl of the ceiling.Each T-spline 85 has a longitudinal vertical web 88 and two oppositeside flanges 90. As shown in both FIG. 4 and FIG. 8, each end of aT-spline 85 rests on a longitudinal shoulder 2-6 of a perforated panel12 with the two side flanges 90 of the T-spline resting flat on thelongitudinal shoulder. A T-spline S5 supports the corresepondinglongitudinal sides of the adjacent acoustical tiles 20 and for thispurpose the longitudinal sides of the tiles are formed with kerfs 92that receive the side flanges of the T-splines. As may be seen in FIGS.4 and l0, each end of each of the acoustic-al tiles 20 is cut away toprovide an overhanging lip 94 to rest on the longitudinal shoulder 26 ofthe corresponding perforated panel 12.

It is to be especially noted in FIG. 10 that the underside of aoverhanging lip 94 is provided with a not-ch or shallow recess 95 ateach end of the lip to provide clearance for the corresponding sideflange of a T-spline 85. The depth of the shallow recess issubstantially the same as the depth of an adjacent kerf 92 and thesurface of the recess is an extension of a surface of the kerf `92 inthe same plane as the kerf surface.

It is apparent that with this configuration the lip 94 at each end ofe-ach acoustical tile 20 not only makes airtight contact with theflanges 90 of the two associated T- splines 85 but also makes airtightContact with the longitudinal shoulder 26 of the perforated panel 12that lies between the two T-splines. Thus with the longitudinal kerfs 92of the tile making airtight engagement with the T-splines, eachacoustical tile is substantially airtight along its entire periphery.The feature of this construction is that it eliminates the flat stripsor anti-breathing splines that are usually employed as spacers on thelongitudinal shoulders 26 between successive T-splines.

The manner in which the invention serves its purpose may be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description. It may be appreciated that itis a simple matter to place one or more hollow units 14 in perforatedpanels 12 for a given room space with the hollow units connected byflexible connector ducts 16 to the supply air duct 15. It is also asimple matter to provide one or more combined air return and attenuationbaflles 66 in one or more perforated panels in the room space to provideadequate capacity for return air flow from the room space into the4plenum chamber above the acoustical ceiling. It is Ian exceedinglysimple matter to install masking strips 84 to seal off all of theperforations or transverse slots 22 of the panels that are not requiredfor the air conditioning of a room space. Since the acoustical tiles 2t)are interchangeable with the light fixtures 13 there is complete freedomwith respect to the locating of the light fixtures. Even at the lastminute in the installation of the air conditioning components, the airconditioning components and the light fixtures may be shifted Aat willwith considerable freedom. It is obvious no rcritical dimensions areinvolved in the relationships between the perforated panels and thevarious components comprising the hollow units 14, the attenuationbaflles 66 and the masking strips 84.

It is further apparent that it is an exceedingly simple matter torearrange the components of the airconditioning system and the lightfixtures in the event that partitions are moved to vary the room spaces.

In this regard it is important to note that access to the space `abovethe ceiling may be provided in any area of the ceiling by simply liftingthe acoustical tiles out of their normal positions of rest on thelongitudinal shoulders 26 of the perforated support panels 12. The T-splines that interconnect the side edges of the acoustical tiles arelifted with the tiles and permit angular movement of the tiles relativeto each other.

A feature of the invention is the omission of the usual anti-breathingsplines along the longitudinal shoulders 26. If a portion of aconventional acoustical ceiling is partially dismantled for access tothe space above the ceiling, the anti-breathing splines become anuisance since care is required to manipulate the splines b-ack intotheir normal positions when the portion of the ceiling structure isreassembled.

In FIG. l it is apparent the two flexible connector ducts 16 are s-olong that the corresponding hollow units 14 may be freely shifted overlarge areas. If it is necessary -to substitute one flexible connectorduct 16 for another to provide a greater range of freedom, it is asimple matter to disconnect the connector duct for replacement. It issuch a simple matter to change the location of the air conditioningcomponents that a change may be quickly made where a desk in a roomspace is changed from one location to another or an occupant would bemore comfortable if the location of a supply air plenum were changed. Inthe same manner the light -lixtures may be shifted at will.

FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 show how a pair of closely spaced parallelstructural beams, each generally designated 100, dened a longitudinalslot 102 and may be substituted for a previously described perforatedsupport panel 12. Each of the two beams 100 is essentially of the shapeof an inverted T with a longitudinal vertical web 110, a bottomhorizontal web 105 and a relatively low upright longitudinal side ange106 along one edge of the bottom web 105. Each of the two beams 100 issupported from loverhead building structure by a plurality of wires 108each of which is looped through an aperture 138 in the vertical web104i.

The two beams 100 of each pair are mechanically interconnected by aseries of spacers 112 which in this instance are light meal angle ironswith notches 114 in their llanges, each notch straddling the upper edgeof a longitudinal web 110. Thus with a series of spacers 112mechanically interconnecting the two beams 100t of each pair of beams,it is appa-rent that each of the pairs of beams constitutes in eifeet asingle longitudinally slotted support panel within the meaning of theterm as used in the appended claims.

The purpose of the longitudinal side flanges 106 are to support the endsof the previously mentioned T splines 85, the side flanges 90 of whichengage the kerfs of acoustical tiles.

Since each pai-r of the .beams 100y provides a longitudinal slot 102 forair flow through the plane of ceiling, it is further apparent that asupport panel that is constituted by each pair of beams is of openconstruction in the same sense that the previously described perforatedsupport panel 12 is of open construction. In any region where alongitudinal slot 102 formed by a pair of beams 100 is not employed forair flow through the plane of the ceiling, a suitable masking strip 115is mounted on the upper surface of the bottom webs 105 of the two beamsto cut off air flow through the slot. The masking strip is con-ned alongits two longitudinal edges by the two vertical webs 104 of the two beams100.

FIG. 13 shows how a hollow unit 14a may be employed in the same generalmanner as a previously described hollow unit 14. The supply air plenum14a has a usual nipple 58a for connection to the usual `iiexibleconnector duct (not shown). The hollow unit 14a is of closed boX-likeconstruction with inwardly turned longitudinal bottom anges 120 thatrest on the bottom longitudinal webs 105 of the pair of the beams 100.The two longitudinal flanges 120y of the hollow unit 14a dedine a slot122 which registers with the longitudinal slot 102 that is defined bythe two beams 100. In the usual manner the juncture between the hollowunit 14a and the bottom Webs 105 of the two beams i100 is sealed bygasket strips 124.

FIG. 1-4 shows how a combined air return and attenuation baie 66a of thesame general character as the previously described attenuation baffle 66maybe mounted on a pair of the beams 100. The attenuation baffle 66aincludes an elongated hood 125 made of relatively thick plates ofsuitable sounddeadening iibrous material, the two ends of the hood beingclosed by two end walls 12:6. As shown in FIG. 14 each of the end walls126 extends downward between the two beams to bl-ock endwise flow intothe attenuation baflie. The hood portion of the attenuation baie restson a plurality of previously described clips 75 with the sides ofthehood spaced from the two beams 100 to provide spaces for air to flowinto the interior of the hood as indicated by the arrows 128.

It is to be noted that to a person looking up at the ce-iling, thelongitudinal slots 1012 formed by the various pairs .of beams 100 appearto be uniformly dark. The slots appear to be uniformly dark because theinterior of the hollow units 14a and the interiors of the combined airreturn and attenuation bafes 66a are dark and because the undersides lofthe masking strips are of matching dark hue.

FIGS. 15 to 17 illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which aset of three closely spaced parallel beams constitute in effect a singlelongitudinal support panel having two spaced parallel longitudinal slots132.

vEach of IChe three beams generally designated 130, is of aconfiguration of an inverted T having a vertical longitudinal web 134and a lower horizontal web which forms two opposite longitudinal sideflanges 135. In a completed ceiling some marginal portions of acousticaltiles rest on the side flanges 135 and other marginal portions ofacoustical tiles rest on the side flanges 90 of T splines 8S, with theends of the T-splines resting on side anges 135 of the beams 130. Thebeams 130 are suspended from overhead building structure by suitablewires 135 which are looped through apertures 138 in the vertical webs134. The three beams 130 of each set are xedly spaced apart in thepreviously described manner by spacers 140' in the form of angle membershaving suitable sl-ots 142 to str-addle the upper edges of the threebeams. Where the two parallel longitudinal slots 132 of a set of thebeams 130 are not employed for air flow through the plane of theceiling, suitable masking strips 144 are employed in the mannerheretofore described.

FIG. 16 shows how an hollow unit 14b may be employed with a s-et ofthree beams 130l in the manner heretofore described. The hollow unit141i is of a closed box-like construction of the character heretoforedescribed and is provided with the usual nipple 1415 for connection to aflexible connector duct (not shown). The hollow unit 14]; nests betweenthe vertical webs 134 o-f the two outermost beams 130 and each of thetwo end walls of the hollow unit is formed with a vertical slot 146 toclear the vertical web 134 of the intermediate beam 130. The hollow unit14b is formed with inwardly turned bottom flanges 148 which rest ongasket strips 150.

FIG. 17 shows how a combined air return and attenuation baffle,generally designated 66]), may be employed with a set of the three beams130. Here again the combined air return and attenuation baie 66hcomprises an elongated hood 152 made of thick plates of ibroussound-deadening material, the two ends of the hood being closed by endwalls 154. Each of the two opposite end walls 154 extends downwardbetween the Vertical webs 134 of the two outermost beams and is formedwith a vertical slot 155 to clear the vertical web 134 of theintermediate beam. The hood 152 rests on a plurality of clips 75 asheretofore described with the hood spaced from the two outermost beams130 to provide spaces for inward air flow as indicated by the dottedarrows 156.

My description in specic detail of the selected embodiments of theinvention will suggest various changes,

substitutions and other departures from my -disclosure within the spiritand scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ceiling structure for an air conditioning system in a building,said structure comprising:

a dropped transverse ceiling spaced from the ceiling of a fioor of thebuilding, to form a plenum chamber between the fioor ceiling and thedropped ceiling, said dropped ceiling including at least one elongatedpanel having a transverse bottom of open construction to permit air flowtherethrough in either direction;

first and second air duct means extending into the plenum chamber, oneof said first and second duct means being connnected to a source ofair-conditioned air under pressure, and the other one of said first andsecond duct means providing a return air ow passage;

at least one hollow box-shaped unit, said unit being disposed on aportion of, and supported by, said panel, and, with said panel, forminga hollow box having a top, two sidewalls, two end walls and an opentransverse bottom wall;

one of said first and second air duct means being in air flowcommunication with the interior of said unit through an opening thereinabove said transverse bottom wall;

at least one masking member seated on another portion of said panelthereby to prevent air flow through the open areas of the transversebottom of said other portion of the panel; and

at least one additional portion of the transverse bottom of said panelbeing left uncovered by both said unit and said masking member, and inair flow communication with said plenum chamber.

2. The ceiling structure as described in claim 1in which the box-shapedunit and masking member are removably disposed on their respectiveportions of the said panel, thereby enabling them to be moved todifferent portions of the panel.

3. A ceiling structure for use with an air conditioning system in abuilding having room spaces defined by vertical partitions, saidstructure comprising:

a dropped transverse ceiling spaced from the ceiling of a floor of thebuilding and in abutment with the upper edges of the ve-rticalpartitions,

said dropped ceiling with the fioor ceiling defining a plenum chamber;

said dropped ceiling further including a plurality of horizontal mainsupport members each of which support members has a transverse bottom ofopen construction to permit air flow therethrough in either direction;

said dropped ceiling further including a plurality of acoustical tilessupported by said main support members;

first and second air duct means extending into the plenum chamber, oneof said first and second duct means being connected to a source ofair-conditioned air under pressure, and the other one of said first andsecond duct means providing a return air fiow passage;

a plurality of hollow box-shaped units, each of said units beingdisposed on a portion of, and supported by, one of said main supportmembers, and with such member, forming a hollow box having a top, twoside Walls, two end walls and an open transverse bottom wall; one ofsaid first and second air duct means being in air ow communication withthe interior of each said unit through an opening thereing above itstransverse bottom wall;

a plurality of masking members seated on some other portions of saidmain support members to prevent air ow through the open areas of thetransverse bottoms of such other portions of such members; and

additional portions of the transverse bottoms of said main supportmembers being left uncovered by both any said unit and any said maskingmember, and hence in air flow communication with said plenum chamber;

said units and said masking members being movable from the respectiveportions of the support members on which they are disposed to otherportions of such panel members, thereby to permit redisposition of theair intakes and air outlets to said room spaces in said building.

4. The ceiling structure as defined in claim 1 in which the maskingmembers are made of sound-attenuating material.

5. The ceiling structure as defined in iclaim 3 in which the mainsupport members have perforate horizontal bottom walls to secure theupper edges of the partitions thereto.

6. The ceiling structure as defined in claim 3 in which the acousticaltiles are supported fiushly with the transverse bottoms of said mainsupport members.

7. The ceiling structure as defined in claim 1 in which soundattenuating baffles are provided and supported above and spaced from theadditional uncovered portions of the transverse bottom of said panel,said baffles being relocatable to conform with any shifting of the saiduncovered portions.

8. The ceiling structure as defined in claim 7 in which the said bafliesare of the configuration of an inverted trough with flared sides.

9. In an acoustical ceiling construction in a building structure, thecombination of:

a plurality of acoustical tiles providing the major portion of theceiling surface with space above the tiles to serve as a return airplenum chamber;

spaced elongated panels serving as primary support members for thetiles, each ofthe panels being formed with longitudinal upstandingflanges on its opposite sides, the bottom of each panel being of openconstruction for air flow therethrough;

supply air duct means extending into the return air plenum chamber;

at least one elongated hollow unit shaped and dimensioned to conform tothe interior of a panel between the upstanding flanges of the panel, thehollow unit being connected to the supply air duct means and beingmounted on a longitudinal portion of a panel between the upstandingflanges thereof with the open bottom of the longitudinal portion servingas the air outlet of the hollow unit,

other longitudinal portions of the panels having their bottoms open tothe return air plenum chamber for return air flow thereto;

transverse extending means fixedly attached to each end of the hollowunit and engaging the upstanding fanges of the panel to stabilize thehollow unit; and

a plurality of masking members resting on and closing the open bottomsof remaining portions of the panels, said hollow unit and maskingmembers being interchangeable to permit change of location of the openbottom portions of the panels that accommodate supply air flow and theopen bottom portions of the panels that laccommodate return air flow.

10. In an acoustical ceiling construction in a building structure, thecombination of:

a plurality of acoustical tiles providing the major portion of theceiling surface, with space above the tiles to serve as a plenumchamber,

spaced elongated panels serving as primary support members for thetiles, the bottom faces of the panels providing a minor portion of theceiling surface, the bottoms of the panels being of open constructionfor air ow therethrough;

supply air duct means in the plenum chamber;

a plurality iof elongated hollow units, each open on its underside andshaped and dimensioned to conform to a panel, each of the hollow unitsbeing mounted over a longitudinal portion of a panel to form therewith asupply air plenum with the open bottom of the longitudinal portionserving as the air outlet of the supply air plenum,

other longitudinal portions of the perforated panels having theirbottoms open to the plenum chamber for return air ow thereto;

a Corresponding plurality of connector ducts connecting the supply airduct means in the plenum chamber to the individual hollow units, saidducts being ilexible to permit change of location of the individualhollow units;

a plurality `of masking members resting on and closing the open bottomsof remaining portions of the panels, said hollow units and maskingmembers being interchangeably movable for change of location of theportions of the panels that accommodate supply air flow and the portionsof the panels that accommodate return air flow;

baffles of sound-absorbing material extending over said otherlongitudinal portions lof the panels; and

means to support said battles levels above the correspondinglongitudinal portions of the perforated panels to place the open bottomsof said other portions of the panels in ow communication with the plenumair chamber,

said panels having upwardly extending horizontal flanges and said balesbeing supported by pluralities of clips straddling the upstandingflanges of the support members.

11. A combination set forth in claim in which each y second-ary supportmembers in the form of T-splines each formed with a vertical web andopposite longi tudinal ilanges at the lower edge of the vertical web,the T-splines spanning the spaces between the suc cessive primarysupport members with the opposite ends of the T-splines resting on thelongitudinal shoulders of the primary support members and with theopposite longitudinal flanges of the T-splines resting ilat on thelongitudinal shoulders; and

rows of acoustical tiles spanning the spaces between the successiveprimary support members, the tiles being formed with overhanging lips ontheir opposite ends resting on the longitudinal shoulders of the primarysupport members, the tiles being formed with longitudinal kerfs in theiropposite sides in engagement with the longitudinal anges of theT-splines,

each of the overhanging lips of each of the acoustical References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,833,199 5/1958 Wakefield 98-4102,859,681 11/1958 Rachlin 98-40 3,031,944 5/1962 Davidson 98-403,058,411 10/ 1962 Has-on 98-40 3,106,146 10/1963 La Vigne 98-403,132,579 5/1964 La Vigne 98-40 3,177,796 4/1965 Lee et al 98-40 ROBERTA. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner.

Disclaimer 3,301,165.-J0m E. Stanley, Flintridge, Calif. CEILING AIRCONDITION- ING SYSTEM. Patent dated J an. 31, 1967. Disclaimer filedJune 30, 1969, by the assignee, Duo-Flew Oorpomto'n. Hereby enters thisdisclaimer to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of saidpatent.

[Oficial Gazette November 4, 1.969.]

1. A CEILING STRUCTURE FOR AN AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM IN A BUILDING,SAID STRUCTURE COMPRISING: A DROPPED TRANSVERSE CEILING SPACED FROM THECEILING OF A FLOOR OF THE BUILDING, TO FORM A PLENUM CHAMBER BETWEEN THEFLOOR CEILING AND THE DROPPED CEILING, SAID DROPPED CEILING INCLUDING ATLEAST ONE ELONGATED PANEL HAVING A TRANSVERSE BOTTOM OF OPENCONSTRUCTION TO PERMIT AIR FLOW THERETHROUGH IN EITHER DIRECTION; FIRSTAND SECOND AIR DUCT MEANS EXTENDING INTO THE PLENUM CHAMBER, ONE OF SAIDFIRST AND SECOND DUCT MEANS BEING CONNECTED TO A SOURCE OFAIR-CONDITIONED AIR UNDER PRESSURE, AND THE OTHER ONE OF SAID FIRST ANDSECOND DUCT MEANS PROVIDING A RETURN AIR FLOW PASSAGE; AT LEAST ONEHOLLOW BOX-SHAPED UNIT, SAID UNIT BEING DISPOSED ON A PORTION OF, ANDSUPPORTED BY, SAID PANEL, AND, WITH SAID PANEL, FORMING A HOLLOW BOXHAVING A TOP, TOW SIDEWALLS, TWO END WALLS AND AN OPEN TRANSVERSE BOTTOMWALL; ONE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND AIR DUCT MEANS BEING IN AIR FLOWCOMMUNICATION WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID UNIT THROUGH AN OPENING THEREINABOVE SAID TRANSVERSE BOTTOM WALL; AT LEAST ONE MASKING MEMBER SEATED ONANOTHER PORTION OF SAID PANEL THEREBY TO PREVENT AIR FLOW THROUGH THEOPEN AREAS OF THE TRANSVERSE BOTTOM OF SAID OTHER PORTION OF THE PANEL;AND AT LEAST ONE ADDITIONAL PORTION OF THE TRANSVERSE BOTTOM OF SAIDPANEL BEING LEFT UNCOVERED BY BOTH SAID UNIT AND SAID MASKING MEMBER,AND IN AIR FLOW COMMUNICATION WITH SAID PLENUM CHAMBER.